Sri Lanka Premier League adopts franchise model

The Sri Lanka Premier League has undergone a significant structural change, adopting a franchise system, with teams coming under private ownership instead of the SLC's control, and a draft system for those franchises to pick their players. The changes were announced on Wednesday by Sri Lanka Cricket, which also started the tender process for the franchise system. The SLC would have owned all seven teams had the tournament gone ahead as planned in 2011, but ESPNcricinfo understands that private commercial interest in owning teams has led the board to change its stance.

Icon players

Basnahira - Tillakaratne Dilshan

Kandurata - Kumar Sangakkara

Nagenahira - International player, yet to be named

Ruhuna - Lasith Malinga

Uthura - Muttiah Muralitharan

Uva - International player, yet to be named

Wayamba - Mahela Jayawardene

The reserve price for the franchises has been set at $3 million. The teams will be leased for an initial period of seven years, following which the franchisees will need to sign a fresh agreement but will have the first right of refusal. Those interested in owning a franchise will be allowed to bid for up to three teams. The tender process closes on June 25 and the bids will be opened the same day and the teams awarded to the highest bidders.

Under the original system, SLC would have assigned players to each team. However, given private ownership of the teams, there will now be a draft along the lines of the one held by the National Basketball Association in the United States. In the first year, a lottery will be held to determine the order in which players are picked. SLC will determine the value of the contract for each player in advance and the franchises will be made aware of the cost of the player. The players are likely to be drafted in two groups - the first consisting of players from Sri Lanka and the second all the foreign players. The draft is being seen as the best way to ensure that players are evenly distributed among the teams, making it a level playing field.

The seven provinces that will form teams are Basnahira, Kandurata, Nagenahira, Ruhuna, Uthura, Uva and Wayamaba. Each franchise will have an icon player, two of whom will be foreign players, and teams will be allowed a maximum of 18 players, out of which six can be foreign players.

Teams will be allowed play a maximum of four foreign players per game. Out of the remaining seven players in the XI, one must be a Sri Lanka Under-21 international.

SLC had signed a new deal with Somerset Entertainment Ventures to hold the league on May 5. Initially, the SLPL was supposed to kick off last year, with SLC's then interim committee signing a five-year deal with Somerset Entertainment Ventures to organise the event. However, the Sri Lankan board was forced to postpone the tournament after the BCCI refused to allow its players to participate at the last minute, causing a delay in the naming of the final composition of the teams and affecting overall preparations for the event. In addition, the interim committee that signed the deal was subsequently replaced and there was criticism of some of the clauses in the contract by the parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), prompting a new deal to be drawn up.

If we assume the icon players are the captains of their teams....I must say again...commady of errors done by SLC ...Lasith Maliga ..who has not even captained his club NCC..named as a cpatain.2.Foreign players are going to be appointed as captains......Wer is the future Sri Lankan Captain Angelo Mathews.....Chairman of SLC ..Can you answer this????????????

Ross
on June 15, 2012, 8:57 GMT

What is the point of the 'icon players'? Also while I am a huge fan of Kumar Sangakkara and he is clearly one of the batsmen in the world, I am not convinced of his ability in T20 cricket...

YOGENDRA
on June 15, 2012, 2:27 GMT

Sinhababu, you are funny, man. Isn't that the way the world works??

Dummy4
on June 14, 2012, 16:17 GMT

sachin & gilly non other of them

Deepak
on June 14, 2012, 15:27 GMT

@bmoizuddin - I think they have a second name like Wayamba Wolves and Kandurata Kites :D

SOORAJ
on June 14, 2012, 13:25 GMT

pak pool will likely to be umar akmal,gul,ajmal,sohail tanvir&afridi!

Dummy4
on June 14, 2012, 12:13 GMT

is there is any rules to fix international players as an icon?what are you going to do for methews, why he can't be an icon player?

Sinha
on June 14, 2012, 12:00 GMT

Looks like Sri Lankan cricket is also about to go down the same path as Indian cricket. Luckily there isn't nearly enough money in SL for it to pose a huge problem. The vultures in SLC and their political masters will bag most of the profits anyway.

Dummy4
on June 14, 2012, 11:59 GMT

chris gayle and shahid afridi should be the other two players!

Baba
on June 14, 2012, 10:11 GMT

all is fine .. just a small suggestion only if the SLPL likes it or not... they have to change the names of the teams.. atleast add second name to the existing names..

Samapth
on June 16, 2012, 7:27 GMT

If we assume the icon players are the captains of their teams....I must say again...commady of errors done by SLC ...Lasith Maliga ..who has not even captained his club NCC..named as a cpatain.2.Foreign players are going to be appointed as captains......Wer is the future Sri Lankan Captain Angelo Mathews.....Chairman of SLC ..Can you answer this????????????

Ross
on June 15, 2012, 8:57 GMT

What is the point of the 'icon players'? Also while I am a huge fan of Kumar Sangakkara and he is clearly one of the batsmen in the world, I am not convinced of his ability in T20 cricket...

YOGENDRA
on June 15, 2012, 2:27 GMT

Sinhababu, you are funny, man. Isn't that the way the world works??

Dummy4
on June 14, 2012, 16:17 GMT

sachin & gilly non other of them

Deepak
on June 14, 2012, 15:27 GMT

@bmoizuddin - I think they have a second name like Wayamba Wolves and Kandurata Kites :D

SOORAJ
on June 14, 2012, 13:25 GMT

pak pool will likely to be umar akmal,gul,ajmal,sohail tanvir&afridi!

Dummy4
on June 14, 2012, 12:13 GMT

is there is any rules to fix international players as an icon?what are you going to do for methews, why he can't be an icon player?

Sinha
on June 14, 2012, 12:00 GMT

Looks like Sri Lankan cricket is also about to go down the same path as Indian cricket. Luckily there isn't nearly enough money in SL for it to pose a huge problem. The vultures in SLC and their political masters will bag most of the profits anyway.

Dummy4
on June 14, 2012, 11:59 GMT

chris gayle and shahid afridi should be the other two players!

Baba
on June 14, 2012, 10:11 GMT

all is fine .. just a small suggestion only if the SLPL likes it or not... they have to change the names of the teams.. atleast add second name to the existing names..

Abhishek
on June 14, 2012, 9:00 GMT

Now here is the thing. England out rightly denies that promoting T20 is killing cricket, opposes IPL and here 'Somerset' wants to sign a deal. This is hypocrisy at its best. England grow up. Dont have double standards.

V.L
on June 14, 2012, 8:56 GMT

@SachTLG
Its not the league thats unique, but the way they marketed it thats unique. The locals love it, the overseas players who have absolutely no connection with the cities represent love to take part in it. Converting a popular idea from other sports into a successful reality in another is no joke. No other wanna be IPL -like - league will be as successful. You can be damn sure about that. In terms of quality, SLPL will out do BPL but not IPL. Financially I think it has all the attributes to become cricket equivalent of a box office bomb !

Kasun
on June 14, 2012, 8:55 GMT

This could be a ripper, if SLC could pull this off. I would pay to see this as it looks interesting.

Pasan
on June 14, 2012, 7:46 GMT

@ Last a good thing.Otherwise if it hasn't got a franchise system i got a doubt that how the players would be played.I also think the animal names after the franchise names too are removed.But the problem arises in offering the captaincy I hoped Angelo and Tharanga could easily find teams to be captained.It might be due to as the SLC board is planning to add 2 more franchises in the next tournament.I think it will be a mega hit as both of Malinga and Murali captaining their sides for the first time and more attention from the people will be gained. But it's good if SLC can guarantee the payments for the foreign players as BPL was such a failure due to payment issues.
But the franchises must begin planning even from their team jersey to make the fan attraction bigger.hope not their won't be fancy names and even ugly colours like that was in BPL. But it's good to keep a better look in Tendering television rights internationally and locally

Kasun
on June 14, 2012, 7:19 GMT

This will be a good chance for domestic players and upcoming young stars. Even Indian players wont participate it wont matter as there will be Pakistan players. Hope it will be succesful and will continue in the future as well.

Enamul
on June 14, 2012, 7:01 GMT

TEAM names are so unique,antique and peculiar OHH MY GOD> I am not going to follow this.

sachit
on June 14, 2012, 6:39 GMT

@anver777 - not sure but a local newspaper named the following players:

Can somebody tell me, who are the probable foreign players who are interested in taking part in this competition ????????????

Andrew
on June 14, 2012, 5:22 GMT

If SL pull this off, it would be quite remarkable, this would potentially make it the 2nd biggest T20 domestic league, (unsure of the dollar contracts floating around in Eng's T20). With 4 Foreign players allowed in a game, the standard & wage bill be high. The MASSIVE problem as I see it is, that it would appear they are going to pitch this tournament right in the middle of the IPL (based on start date of 5th May). I wonder if March would be a better time to play, I know it eats into potential Test slots, (Oz usually tour this time of year)!
== == ==
Any money on Sanath coming out of retirement, maybe legislating that he MUST be an icon? LOL!

yogi
on June 14, 2012, 5:02 GMT

Make way for another IPL cousin.Hope the players get paid int his tournament unlike BPL.

sachit
on June 14, 2012, 3:55 GMT

Yeah I know all this T20 is a madness and it will end up destroying cricket - but strange why people are criticizing only a few boards when they start their tournaments. So what they basically are saying is Let a few boards run the show,and be rich and let the others 'preserve cricket' by not having T20 contests. Biased comments.

sachit
on June 14, 2012, 3:50 GMT

wannabe IPL? IPL was in fact a wannabe ICL in the first place - It's a huge copy cat operation that was successful.. so maybe another copy cat operation might work... who knows?
It's funny how people think IPL is a 'unique' thing.
IPL = ECB's t20 format + NBA/MLB/NFL naming + american franchise system+ ugly colors from ICL + 'Premier league name from English Premier League'

Dummy4
on June 14, 2012, 1:37 GMT

For love of god..dont name it a premier leauge...please dont. If Football fans ever find out about the naming of tournaments it'll be a laughing stock.

YOGENDRA
on June 13, 2012, 23:26 GMT

Everyday, let them play test matches during the day and T20 games every night as they do in the USA.

Dwight
on June 13, 2012, 21:28 GMT

SLC got something right...IPL and all T20 domestic tourneys should be franchise models..better for the league and fan loyalty and team development. well done. also ICON players have to be sri lankan so most likely Uva- Chaminda Vaas, Nagehari- Sanath Jayasuriya

Dummy4
on June 13, 2012, 21:23 GMT

It will be great if SLPL can pull it off this time. If Bangladesh can do it, SL can do it too. However, $3M for reserve for the fanchises is a bit too much even though it is for 7 years. The danger of SLPL is off course the packed T20 leagues thats going on all over these days. Neverthless, its good money for cricketers, more options to bring in new players and definitely will make things more exciting for each boards to agree on schedules for their tournaments...

Sammy
on June 13, 2012, 20:46 GMT

Yet another wannable IPL, but will end up being a very poor imitation of IPL, if it gets off the ground in the first place!!

Khondker S
on June 13, 2012, 20:18 GMT

How many more PL we need...T20 is getting more attention that other formats....

Delan
on June 13, 2012, 20:06 GMT

Well for this inagural series why don't they make the two other icon players Chaminda Vaas and perhaps either one of Sanath Jayasuriya, or Thilan Sameeraweera. Thats the full set of stars that have kept SL cricket going in the last decade or so

I don't know how players making tons of money can be bad for cricket..

There are many lawyers, doctors, engineers, businessmen, accountants, plant operators, policemen, clerks, ect, ect, ..who chose a more stable career over cricket ..

as a West Indian I can safely say that Cricket is played only by those who can earn more playing cricket than they would in regular life or by those who are so well set that they can slum it for 10 years and still be financially safe.

When WI fans talk about cricketers, they talk knowing that half of them can perform better than those who actually make up the WI team these days ...

Farhan
on June 13, 2012, 19:04 GMT

You know what this is how the International Cricket gonna be ruined. Every single coun try will try to have their own T20 league. Its profitable so sponsors will throw money. Player will get paid lot more than what they got paid from their board. Now one pietersen left cricket in 5year time most of the good player will choose to play one form of cricket to ensure that they have enough time to play in those leagues and earn good amount of money. For some countries it wont even take 5year. If NZC force their player to play for NZ in England nxt year instead of IPL they'll refuse now, some of them will just go. WI players too choose to play in lucratice league over their country. Honestly WTH is happening. Probably we will never have player like Sachin, Dravid, Wasim again :(.

ibrahim
on June 13, 2012, 18:20 GMT

lol...who really cares bout SLPL!!

Dummy4
on June 13, 2012, 17:30 GMT

I doubt Pakistan will ever have their own T20 league -_-

Gaya
on June 13, 2012, 17:20 GMT

Most likely Nagenahira=Afridi,Uva=Vettori!

No featured comments at the moment.

Gaya
on June 13, 2012, 17:20 GMT

Most likely Nagenahira=Afridi,Uva=Vettori!

Dummy4
on June 13, 2012, 17:30 GMT

I doubt Pakistan will ever have their own T20 league -_-

ibrahim
on June 13, 2012, 18:20 GMT

lol...who really cares bout SLPL!!

Farhan
on June 13, 2012, 19:04 GMT

You know what this is how the International Cricket gonna be ruined. Every single coun try will try to have their own T20 league. Its profitable so sponsors will throw money. Player will get paid lot more than what they got paid from their board. Now one pietersen left cricket in 5year time most of the good player will choose to play one form of cricket to ensure that they have enough time to play in those leagues and earn good amount of money. For some countries it wont even take 5year. If NZC force their player to play for NZ in England nxt year instead of IPL they'll refuse now, some of them will just go. WI players too choose to play in lucratice league over their country. Honestly WTH is happening. Probably we will never have player like Sachin, Dravid, Wasim again :(.

Ali
on June 13, 2012, 19:29 GMT

I don't know how players making tons of money can be bad for cricket..

There are many lawyers, doctors, engineers, businessmen, accountants, plant operators, policemen, clerks, ect, ect, ..who chose a more stable career over cricket ..

as a West Indian I can safely say that Cricket is played only by those who can earn more playing cricket than they would in regular life or by those who are so well set that they can slum it for 10 years and still be financially safe.

When WI fans talk about cricketers, they talk knowing that half of them can perform better than those who actually make up the WI team these days ...

Well for this inagural series why don't they make the two other icon players Chaminda Vaas and perhaps either one of Sanath Jayasuriya, or Thilan Sameeraweera. Thats the full set of stars that have kept SL cricket going in the last decade or so

Khondker S
on June 13, 2012, 20:18 GMT

How many more PL we need...T20 is getting more attention that other formats....

Sammy
on June 13, 2012, 20:46 GMT

Yet another wannable IPL, but will end up being a very poor imitation of IPL, if it gets off the ground in the first place!!

Dummy4
on June 13, 2012, 21:23 GMT

It will be great if SLPL can pull it off this time. If Bangladesh can do it, SL can do it too. However, $3M for reserve for the fanchises is a bit too much even though it is for 7 years. The danger of SLPL is off course the packed T20 leagues thats going on all over these days. Neverthless, its good money for cricketers, more options to bring in new players and definitely will make things more exciting for each boards to agree on schedules for their tournaments...

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